Special Treat weekend

It was off to Raleigh, NC for the hubs and I this past Friday. Good friends were getting married in Downtown Raleigh on Saturday evening. My husband's parents live in Raleigh so we had the pleasure of staying with them. Friday night we had reservations to celebrate our anniversary at Second Empire in Downtown Raleigh. Hands down, this restaurant is AMAZING. Everything from the complimentary, warm, fresh, homemade bread to the chocolate souffle we had for dessert...it was all perfect and mouth watering delicious!!!!!! Such a special treat for us since we never go out for fancy dinners. :)

We started off with freshly baked bread brought promptly to the table. I only had one roll, but I could have had five. They were SO fresh and tasted as if we were in Paris at a french bakery. Another "special treat", a light and refreshing bottle of Pinot Grigio with the meal.

For a first course, we shared the Pan-Fried Georgia Quail. This quail was served with grilled corn & scallion pancakes, smoked cabbage slaw, apple & pear chutney, arugula, molasses & ginger reduction. It.was.awesome.

For our entrees, the hubs had the "Off the Hook" Ocean Catch which was Key West Grouper. The Grouper was served with sauteed herb polenta rectangle, roasted summer tomato ragout, haricot vert & celery root, Swiss chard, grilled lime & poblano vinaigrette.

I had the 330 Jumbo Lump Crab Cake. This was served with garlicky kale & grilled onions, cannellini bean ragout, sun-dried tomatoes, spicy cucumber & cabbage salad, in a sweet curry jus. This was to die for. The crab cake had no fillers of mayo and bread crumbs which is an A++++ in my book! I was so happy with this dish! The hubs was jealous of my entree...no fear, we shared. :)

For dessert we shared an out of this world chocolate souffle. It was moist, flavorful, and just out of this world. We also had decaf coffee with our dessert.

Just as we were feeling as if we were going to POP from fullness, our waitress brought by another dessert as a Happy Anniversary from the restaurant. It was a beautiful scoop of icecream...duh, of course we had to eat it---somehow icecream just fills in the cracks of your stomach. ;) Everything is made in house and this icecream was crazy good. When they first brought it out, I told Daniel that I could not eat one more bite...well, that was a lie. I helped with the icecream and I'm glad I did because it was holy.cow.good.

The chef also signed a menu and gave it to us. He said "Taste with your eyes!" They are huge on presentation...and of course, quality of food. So fun, I got to meet the Chef as well!

We left feeling fat, happy and FULL. :)

On Saturday we attended a lovely wedding of two good friends. We had a blast and the bride looked stunning and glowing. I love weddings! On Sunday we had lunch with family before heading back home. Such a great, special treat kind of weekend!

(Holding up the #2 for anniversary #2. We frame these so that we can see how we age every year add memories on our walls)